Are these the same questions year after year? Anyone who's interviewed in the last 6 months care to share?
Here is the most obvious one: 1. So, tell me a time when you had to convince someone on an idea? Here is my take in interviewing: don't bother going unless you have a network into the interview. You know. Your father is friends with the manager. Your brother played college ball with the manager. You are in a relationship with the hiring manager. Because in today's market, that is what it takes to get hired in over 90 percent of the jobs out there. And for the great jobs, its higher than that. Welcome to 2014 in America, where talent and work ethic, intelligence, and self-motivation, mean absolutely nothing. And in the pharmaceutical sales world, you can triple that. Another common question: 2. Can you walk me through the sales process, as you see it? 3. Why are you the best candidate for this job? Seriously, don't waste your time in this industry unless you know someone on the inside. the only exception would be if you are a recent college graduate that is interviewing on campus or if you have a top degree from a top school and recently graduated. They will consider you because you are easy to control and they can get you very cheap. If you want to do your career/life a real favor, find a small private company that has a quality product and has some stability, and you will thank me that you never got into this mess we know as pharmaceutical sales. good luck.
I've had some weird ones: Tell me what is important. Whom do you admire and why? Understand that the interview is what they call a "behavior based interview." Just google and you will find pages and pages and pages if the same ridiculous questions. "Tell me about a time when..." Prepare some good stories, there is little truth finding element to the interview, other than above, you'd say "It's important to do what it takes to win" and then "I admire Michael Jordon because he practices all the time -- he does what it takes to win." This interview selects for liars. If you are a good liar and you prepare then things will be great. If you're a normal, non-pathological, honest likable person you will fall on your face in the interview. You'll be asking yourself (and if you're an honest person it will show all over your face), "WTF are they asking me???" The industry is phony. You're going around talking to front desks and delivering lunch in a pretty suit and on the occasion when you interact with physicians, you'd better at least claim that you stuck to the company line throughout the interaction. Pharma reps are walking television ads.
Have you ever done a presentation in front of someone and what was the situation? Odd question. Can't you get an idea of that from the resume. The whole job is about talking to HCPs. Some of the other questions listed above. I'd say standard phone interview questions.
